Disclaimer: I don't own anything to do with RWBY.
Author's Note: Woooooo! Chapter 3 is here folks! Thank you all so much for the lovely reviews in the last chapter. It truly makes my week reading them, and I am so happy so many of you are loving this fanfic. :D
There's a bit of rude language and sexual talk in this chapter a bit further down so heads up for that.
Thank you to my good friend Callum for proof reading this chapter for me.
I hope you all like this chapter too! :D
Reeves3
Chapter Three
A line of thirty children, aged between seven to eight year olds, stood impatiently on the footpath in the school's parking lot, next to the large bus which would take them to the Vale Leisure Centre. Blake stood at the back of the queue watching the kids talk excitedly with one another and swing their swim bags around knocking them against other kids. Up at the front was another volunteer, Nick Greene, who was hovering over Yang's shoulder as she took the register. Each time she ticked off a name on the clipboard that child walked up and boarded the bus.
Having a surname that began with the second letter of the alphabet Kit had been one of the first to board the bus. Blake could just about see her though from where she stood. She was seated by the window and peeking behind to pull faces at her mother. As the line moved down and Blake stood directly at the window below Kit, she folded down one ear and pointed the other one up one after the other, causing Kit to giggle.
"-Elaina, hop on up, Jasper leave that caterpillar alone and head on the bus, and finally we have Blake!" Yang put down the board and grinned at Blake who smiled shyly at her in return. There was a cough behind Yang who jumped out of her skin and they both turned to look at Nick.
"Are we ready to go?" He asked, clapping a hand on Yang's shoulder making her jolt.
"Yup, all the kids are on board," said Yang, picking Nick's hand off her shoulder and letting go of it quickly. Nick ignored it and overly gestured for the two of them to board the bus ahead of him and, after giving each other a quick wide eyed glance, they stepped upon the bus with Nick following Blake.
The bus driver started to pull away and Yang took a seat directly behind him and Blake sat down beside her. Nick took one of the seats across from them looking mildly put off but Blake hardly gave it a second thought because Yang let out a relaxed sigh beside her and ran her right hand through the top of her hair. Blake noticed it was covered in a black glove again and she wore her hoodie once more to hide the whole arm.
"So," started Yang. "How've you been since Saturday?"
"I've been good. My parents couldn't believe Kit and I had gone swimming," said Blake, smiling.
"Oh yeah? What did you tell them?"
"I told them how I actually got into the water managed to stay calm while floating. Of course I talked about how brilliant Kit did and then I mentioned the great supportive teacher we had," praised Blake, her smile broadening at seeing Yang's cheeks turn pink.
"Oh?" Yang exclaimed, over exaggerating as she crossed her leg, placed her elbow on her knee, and cupped her chin in her hand. "Tell me more about this great and supportive teacher!"
Blake laughed quietly and shook her head as Yang laughed along too before their giggles settled down after a few minutes. Behind them the children began singing 'The Wheels On The Bus' and Yang bobbed her head from side to side with the tune.
"Can I ask you something?" Blake asked, leaning in close so Yang could hear her over the noise. That was the excuse she gave herself anyway.
"Sure," nodded Yang, scooting a little closer too.
"How long have you been teaching for?"
"Teaching swimming or teaching P.E?"
"Both," replied Blake, curious for each answer.
"I've been teaching P.E for four years here and I've been doing my swimming lessons for eight years. I started the swimming lessons to help pay for my university courses," explained Yang.
"It sounds like you've planned on being a teacher for a long time," mentioned Blake, rather impressed. Yang's smile faded at Blake's words and she realised she had said something wrong by the way Yang moved away clutching at her right arm where the stump met her prosthetic.
"I guess," she sighed, staring out the window as the bus started to slow down outside the front of the leisure centre. Blake could just make out the pained expression on Yang's features in the reflection of the glass. As the bus came to a halt Yang looked back at Blake but her smile didn't quite reach her eyes. "A lot of it was down to fate, really."
Standing up from her seat Blake watched as the sadness was masked with a large smile and shining bright eyes. "Okay everyone, we're here. I want a single file lining up outside the bus, Mr Greene will show us where the line will begin. Miss Belladonna, do you mind checking that the bus is empty once everyone is off?"
Blake nodded as she stood up along with Nick and he headed off the bus to begin the start of the line. Yang stood by the bus driver and counted heads as the children began to push and shove forward to get off the bus first thinking that would make them get into the swimming pool faster. Kit cheekily stuck her tongue out at Blake as she passed by then scampered off the bus giggling away.
Yang followed the last child off the bus but before Blake got off herself she walked up the length of the bus checking each section for hiding kids or forgotten bags. As she expected nothing was left behind so she joined at the end of the queue as the kids started to march towards the entryway following Yang. The same blue haired man, Neptune, as Blake recalled, from Saturday was there to greet them all with a cheery wave. As they approached the changing rooms the boys followed Nick into the men's room while the girls followed Yang as Blake brought up the rear.
The girls started putting on their costumes, Blake noticing Kit looking a lot less anxious from their first lesson the other day, as Yang came up to Blake holding her clipboard.
"I just need to go do a health and safety check in the pool and make sure all the gear has been prepared. I'll be right back." Blake nodded and Yang walked down the changing room and turned right towards the pool.
"Miss," said a quiet voice by Blake's side. She glanced down to see a brown haired girl who had her head through the arm strap. "Can you help me? I think my straps are twisted."
Blake smiled and helped the child get her arms through the correct straps. After she was finished the girl thanked her and moved to pile her clothes together on the bench as another girl came up to Blake requesting to tie up her hair. While she was tying the girl's hair in a plait Blake nearly jumped out of her skin hearing the sudden burst of laughter down at the other end of the room. Glancing across she saw Yang struggling to contain her composure as Kit grinned by her legs and another girl, with bleach blonde hair, scowled at Kit.
"Kit Kat, you get a house point," laughed Yang, then calmed down to give a stern look to the other girl, "Charlotte, I don't want to hear you being rude again, okay? If I hear you saying any other mean things, you'll be sitting out."
Wondering what that had been about Blake went back to helping the girl tie her hair up figuring she would find out from Kit later. Pretty soon all the girls were ready and following Yang outside to the pool where the boys joined up with them and she got them sitting on the floor along the floor to ceiling windows. The water was calm with a few occasional ripples from the small jets around the edges. On the opposite side there was door, leading to the supply closet, outside of which was a pile of blown up armbands, three stacks of kickboards and a sack of something but Blake wasn't sure what was inside it. A pool divider floated horizontal across the pool to cut the children off from travelling too deep.
Blake and Nick stood off to the side as Yang addressed her students.
"Before I tell you what we'll be doing today, let's go over so of the Swimming Pool Rules, who can tell me what some of these rules could be?
Kit's hand shot up and Yang pointed at her.
"No running," she answered, meekly, recalling her incident last Saturday.
"Excellent Kit Kat! Anyone else?"
A few more hands raised in the air and Yang pointed to a skinny boy with red hair in the middle of them all. "Jimmy Jam, what have you got for me?"
"No diving in the shallow end," he answered, knowingly.
"Brilliant! We don't want anyone bashing their noggin' underwater," explained Yang, seriously, causing the children to shake their heads and chant 'no' in agreement. "And who can tell me another rule?"
Fewer hands raised this time but Yang pointed out to a child wearing The Incredible Hulk swim shorts and had his brown hair cut short.
"Alright Sensei Sam, teach me your ways," cheered Yang, clasping her hands in front of her as though in a prayer before bowing down low. Most of the children giggled.
Sam nervously answered. "Umm, don't be mean to others?"
Blake's eyes widened slightly hearing the feminine tone of his voice while beside her she caught Nick mutter his disapproval quietly but she picked it up thanks to her second set of ears. Yang wasn't fazed at all.
"Yes, spot on! I don't want to see anyone being rough with anyone else and if I see someone purposely splashing someone or pushing them underwater you'll be out the pool immediately. Understand?" Yang said, loudly and firmly.
The children nodded their heads and Yang smiled."Good stuff! Alright, what we're going to be learning today is water confidence and a bit of breathing exercises. Now I know some of you might already be pretty happy to get in the water but if you're feeling nervous raise your hands and we'll get you some armbands. There's enough for everyone so don't worry about missing out on some. Can you two help me hand them out?"
Yang directed her question to Blake and Nick who started heading towards the pile of armbands and began handing them out to the children who wanted them. Blake handed a pair to Kit who thanked her and slid them up her arms.
"Alright use the steps to lower yourself in, two lines on either side," instructed Yang. The children stood up off the floor and split up into two groups and one by one started to get into the pool. Blake watched as Kit lowered herself into the water stepping further into the middle of the pool then grinned and gave her mum a thumbs up.
"She's doing great, one of the first ones in," commented Yang, as she passed by Blake.
"Yeah, I can hardly believe it," said Blake. Yang beamed and Blake returned it feeling her cheeks warm up.
For the next twenty minutes Yang played games with the children. To warm up she had them pretend to be a massive washing machine by getting them to link their arms and move in a giant circle pretending to be the spin cycle. Then she had them kick their feet, to make bubbles so the clothes inside the washing machine would be cleaned. The next game she played with them was the body washing game, to help the kids get used to water being on their faces, getting them to cup water in their hands and splash their faces and putting lots of water on top of their heads.
Blake kept a watchful eye on all the children making sure none of them misbehaved or slipped under the water and on the opposite side Nick kept his wondering eyes on Yang. Her ears flattened against her skull when she noticed he wasn't paying attention.
Yang called for their attention after they finished with the body washing game to practice some breathing exercises. She got them singing low notes of 'Ohhhh' when inhaling then going 'Ahhhh' when exhaling all the while teaching them the importance of taking deep breaths instead of short ones to reduce panic and fill their diaphragm full of air to hold their breaths for longer.
Once the breathing exercises were finished with, Yang got the kids to sit on the edge of the pool and then got the three adults to hand out the kickboards to each of the children.
"We're going to play the animal rescue game now," cheered Yang, picking up the mysterious sack Blake had noted earlier. Dipping her hand into it she started throwing plastic animals into the pool where they bobbed and floated helplessly along the top of the water. "I'm going to pick five of you at a time and you'll have one minute to rescue as many animals and place them on your board. The person with the most animals on their board once the time is up wins!"
"But won't the faunus in our class have an extra point?" Charlotte whispered to her friends sitting beside her. The few faunus children with an extra set of ears frowned and some stared down glumly at the water while others, Kit included, glared back at her. She had obviously tried to say it quietly enough just for the faunus to hear but she hadn't counted on being overheard by her teacher however because suddenly Yang was standing directly behind her.
"What did I say to you earlier about being rude? For that Charlotte, you can sit out by the window. I won't have that kind of attitude in my class," warned Yang. Charlotte pulled an ugly expression before getting up and stomping off to sit down on the floor with her arms crossed over her chest. The class had gone quiet as they watched her sulk off but Yang soon got them entertained and shouting for joy by starting up the next game.
During the second round of animal rescue Nick sauntered up to Blake's side and casually looked around.
"She's pretty great, isn't she?" He mentioned, nodding his head towards Yang. Blake glanced at Nick then turned her head towards Yang who was cheering on each of the five kids in the water.
"Uh, yes, she's a great teacher," said Blake, knowing that wasn't what Nick was commenting on. He gave a hum of approval then tried to pry information out of Blake.
"Do you happen to know if she's seeing anyone?"
"I really wouldn't know," huffed Blake, finally giving into her irritation. "We should focus on keeping an eye on the kids and not on Miss Xiao Long."
Nick let out a scoff and moved away purposely walking behind Yang and checking out her rear as he went causing Blake's blood to boil. He had only volunteered just to check out Yang and not help out with the children at all. A whistle blew signalling that time was up to the children and Yang counted up the animals finding the winner for that round. Four more minute long rounds later and the six winners were given a house point each.
Blake collected up the animals off the side of the pool and back into the bag as the lesson drew to an end while Yang got them all to practice floating to cool down. With five minutes left until the end of the lesson Yang called the children to leave the water one at a time using the steps on either side of the pool. They dropped their kickboards on the floor and those that had armbands threw them back into the pile from earlier.
"Nick, could you give me a hand picking up the kickboards?" Yang requested, as the kids marched by leaving trails of water in their wake. They passed by Blake who was waiting by the entrance of the ladies changing room as she made sure none of them ran. Blake waited for the last kid to enter the changing rooms before beginning to follow them in but there was a slam of a door rattling against the wall so she turned around to see what caused it.
Nick had pinned Yang against the supply closet door, an arm beside her head and the other by her hip, effectively trapping her as he leered his body close to hers. If Blake's blood had been boiling before, it was molten lava right now. She gritted her teeth as her ears perked forward in their direction to hear what was being said.
"-a quick one in this cupboard? You're all I've been thinking about, your hot body, your great ass and fantastic tits, I bet they'll be even better in my hands. What do you say?"
Yang's face remained perfectly calm as she gave Nick her answer.
"I think you need to cool off."
With a strong shove against his chest Yang sent Nick stumbling backwards until he fell into the pool with a massive splash. When he surfaced Yang was at the edge of the pool looking down at him so angrily her eyes almost appeared red and her hair glowed like fire. Blake was frozen on the spot staring in awe.
"Count yourself lucky that I'm not going to call the police for sexual harassment Mr Greene," she snapped.
"You bitch!" Nick shouted, wiping the water from his face. He looked around and spotted Blake, and furiously asked her. "Did you see her push me in?!"
Yang's eyes snapped over to hers and Blake shrugged, airily. "I don't know, the floor is pretty wet, are you sure you didn't slip?"
She saw Yang's eyes light up and a large grin appear on her face. Nick shook his head and waded over to the edge.
"Fucking faunus freak," he spat, in Blake's direction.
With an impressive display of strength Yang, grabbing a handful of his shirt, lifted him clear out the water and left him dangling above it.
"Apologise," she growled, danger flashing in her eyes.
"I-I'm sorry," he whimpered, struggling to get out of her grasp.
"Not to me."
Yang dumped him on the floor and he quickly stood up and scurried away from her. He got closer to Blake and uttered a small apology before zipping into the men's changing room where laughter rose up from the boys. Blake watched him disappear into the room and didn't notice Yang approaching, until she placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Are you alright?"
Blake swallowed and turned to gaze at Yang.
"Nothing I haven't heard before," she sighed. "What about you?"
"I'm fine, I'm used to jackasses like that." Yang also sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "I'm really sorry you had to see that. It's been a while since I've lost my temper like that."
Blake nodded her head slowly. "I've seen worse tempers."
Yang's brow furrowed as she started to open her mouth to say something else but Blake quickly cut her off. "We should get back to the children."
Lilac eyes widened considerably. "Oh god, yeah. Uhh, right, yeah, let's go."
Thankfully everyone was busy getting dry and putting their clothes back on. As soon as they were finished they lined up by the door and Blake and Yang checked to make sure nothing was left behind. Yang led them into the entrance where Nick was waiting, with a borrowed towel wrapped around him, he ignored them and Yang gave Blake a small smirk as she passed her by.
Yang stopped to talk to one of the boys that had called for her and let him walk along side her as they exited the building and back towards the bus. A head count was taken again by Yang as the students filed onto the bus one by one. When the last kid hopped up onto the bus Yang held Blake back for a minute.
"I'm going to sit next to Nikos at the front. He's not feeling too good," she mentioned, and Blake could have sworn she sounded almost reluctant about it.
"That's alright. Kit's been pulling faces at me again so I'm going to go have a word with her," teased Blake, causing Yang to let out a snicker.
Blake stepped up onto the bus with Yang behind her and the doors slid shut. Blake walked down the length of the aisle and found Kit sitting by herself in a window seat.
"Hey mum," she greeted, leaning over to hug her mother as she sat down.
"Hello, my little swimmer," praised Blake.
Kit grinned up at her and one of her brown ears twitched from a couple of water droplets dropping down from the fur. The bus began to drive away and the children picked up their singing, this time it was Ten Green Bottles, but Kit didn't join in and continued to cuddle with Blake. Halfway through the journey Blake remembered what she wanted to ask Kit about.
"So what happened this morning in the changing room with Charlotte?" Kit moved back to sit properly in her seat as she explained what happened earlier.
"Charlotte was complaining that Sam couldn't wear shorts because she's a girl but Sam wants to be a boy, so I told her to mind her own business. Then Charlotte said I might as well wear shorts too because I don't have boobs unlike her. Then I said her boobies aren't as big as Miss Xiao Long's-"
Blake's eyes bulged and she hissed quietly. "Kit Belladonna!"
"What? It's true. I heard the boys call them melons," mentioned Kit, nonchalantly.
"I hope you don't," groaned Blake, into her hand.
"No! I call them boobies, that's the technical term," she informed Blake, knowingly. "So Miss Xiao Long was behind me the whole time-" Blake's internal groan was going to last for a century, "-and I didn't know until she started laughing really loud before giving me a house point for standing up for Sam."
Blake put down her hand. "Well that was really good of you for standing up for Sam but you shouldn't talk about other people's breasts."
Kit ended up continuously asking 'why' to each of Blake's answers until they got back to the school.
Author's Note: I hope I wrote Sam respectfully; I wanted some trans representation in this story and I hope I did a good job. If you have any comments or suggestions about my portrayal of Sam and trans issues please leave a comment or message me privately. Your feedback will help me improve. :)
Leave a review and let me know what you think! ^-^
See you next Friday, all! :D
Reeves3